Nothing Else Matters
by SupernaturalFanPerson
Summary: Sam and Dean have a little sister. And she's missing.
1. Chapter 1: Ruth

**You've probably heard this a million times but I, unfortunately, don't own the Winchesters. Please, PLEASE, rate and review this, it's my first story and I want to know if I should continue. Enjoy. :)**

The girl's screams echoed, her tears creating a path down the dried and cracked blood on her face. It took all of her energy to even stay awake at this point. The ropes were cutting into her raw arms and legs. She mustered up everything she had left in her and helplessly screamed out one desperate syllable.

"DEAN!"

**FOUR DAYS EARLIER**

Silently, the creature crept up behind him, making no noise, just a shadow in the quiet morning air. Suddenly, it leapt forward and- "Whoa!" Dean laughed, grabbing the trunk for support as his little sister attacked him with a giant hug. "What's up, kiddo?" Dean watched as the 13 year old took in the sight in front of her, her smile disappearing as her face grew disapprovingly solemn. "You're leaving again." It was more a statement than a question. "Uh, yeah," Dean said awkwardly. "Bobby heard of a couple vampires snackin' on people in Dixon, Missouri."

Dean knew what was coming next; it was practically the kid's catch phrase. "Can I come?" she asked eagerly. Dean sighed. Before he could answer, Sam came out of Bobby's with their duffel bags. "Okay, we got everything…" His voice dropped when he saw Ruth's stare. "You told her?" Ruth stood in front of Sam, her 5 feet barely reaching his neck. She looked up at him with her expert puppy dog eyes. Dean rolled his eyes. _This is Sam's freakin' fault, _he thought. _Who else could teach her to make that perfect pleading look?_ Dean saw Sam begin to melt under her expression and decided to step in. "NO."

"He's right." Sam agreed, coming back to his senses. "You're not ready." "Not ready?" Her voice cracked. "Not ready? You got to hunt when you were 9! I can handle a shotgun like no one's business, I know every incantation in Daddy's journal, _and _I can fit in small places. Face it." She smirked. "I rock." "NO." Dean said stubbornly, getting into the Impala. She watched her brothers ride away, tires squealing and Led Zepplin blaring, before turning back towards Bobby's.

Sam sat in the passenger seat of the car. He still remembered when his dad had brought Ruth to the motel that November night. They had started the case in the first place because John had wanted to see someone he had hooked up with on Valentine's Day that year. When she became a victim of the werewolf they were hunting, he felt obligated to bring his weeks-old daughter home. They were lucky, he chuckled. If it was a boy their father was sure to name him Hunter.

But at thirteen Ruth had clearly had enough of staying with Bobby, or Pastor Jim, or someone else while Sam and Dean had "all the fun," as she often said.

Dean cleared his throat. "Done fighting with your inner feelings?" Dean teased, seeing Sam's dazed look out the window. Sam realized they were in front of their motel already. He got out of the car and stood up. Dean grabbed his duffel, but set it back down when he heard his phone ringing. The caller I.D. said Bobby.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean answered. "What's up?" Bobby hesitated.

"Ruth's missing."


	2. Chapter 2: Going to California

**Hey guys, thank you so much for reading my story. The website won't let me reply, but I promise, I read every review. Thank you for the support. This chapter starts out with hardly any action but I promise there will be some near the end. Enjoy!**

**Last chapter: **_"Hey, Bobby." Dean answered. "What's up?" Bobby hesitated._

_"Ruth's missing."_

"WHAT?" Dean just about screamed into the phone. "HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?" He ignored Sam's curious and worried expression.

"Don't lose your cool with me, boy!" Bobby hissed. "I was in the bathroom." Dean smiled, despite the circumstances. "I came out and she was just gone. Disappeared. And get this: I found traces of sulphur."

"Sulphur? You mean demons took Ruth?" Dean asked.

"Are you hard of hearing? Yes, demons, ya idgit! I'm trying to trace where they took her but if you could get back here as soon as possible it would be appreciated." Dean heard the dial tones as Bobby hung up.

Sam approached Dean carefully. "Dean…" Dean turned towards him. "Sammy, we've got a problem.

**THREE DAYS LATER**

Sam was sitting in the living room early that morning when Bobby walked in. He sighed at the youngerWinchester. He doubted Sam had slept since the two had reached his place. The pot of coffee beside him confirmed this.

Sam looked up and was about to say something when Dean walked in, a beer in his hand. "Isn't it a little early for a beer, son?" Bobby asked. Dean's answer was interrupted by a phone ringing. It was Sam's. Sam jumped up, knocking over a pile of books in the process. He held up the phone, his face turning pale. "It's Ruth."

He turned his phone on speaker. "Hello?" he asked nervously. All he heard was crying on the other end. "Ruth!" Dean grabbed the phone. "Ruth, whatever they're doing to you I swear I will kill every last one of them! They won't even know what hit em'!"

"Hey, Sweety!" The voice on the other end of the line sent chills down Dean's spine. "Whatever you do to her, I swear-""Don't bother Dean, I've already heard your poor excuse for a threat. Sam, I know you're there too. Look, if you two ever want to see this little cutey ever again I suggest you get here sooner than later or it might not go well for your lil' sissy." The threesome listened painfully to the punches and cries that ensued. "Hurry, hurry…." The demon said in a sing-song voice. Then the line went down. Sam sank into his chair. How could they let this happen?

"Dean, is there any way to find her?" Bobby asked worriedly. "Yeah, I can track her on GPS." Dean replied. He quickly grabbed Sam's laptop and found the website, immediately calling the GPS service number.

"Hi, my daughter ran away last night, I was wondering if you could track her phone for me." Dean paused, listening. "Yeah, uh, her name is Sarah Hammett."

A few minutes later Dean hangs up. "She's in California."

...

Dean pulls up to the house that the GPS had directed them to with Bobby right behind them. "She's inside?" Sam asked.

"Yep."

"Then let's get some guns!"

Sam, Dean, and Bobby walked in the door cautiously. It looked like a normal house. Dean motioned to split up and cover more ground. Dean walked upstairs, Bobby took the first floor, and Sam headed towards the backyard.

As he was heading to the back porch he saw a door that seemed to lead to a basement. He decided to check it out. After all, if Ruth was in trouble he didn't want to waste another minute.

….

Dean had checked almost the entire floor when he heard a noise behind him. He whipped around, gun in hand, to see a brunette standing in front of him. She stood closer to him as her eyes turned black. Dean stepped back. "What's the matter?" she cooed, knife in hand. "Don't like me much?" Dean smirked. "Naw, just not lookin' for any California Gurls right now." The demon punched him, causing him to crash into the wall behind him.

…

Sam stepped quietly down the creaking stairs to the dank basement. He heard nothing until he stepped into sight of his little sister. She grunted a warning through her gag as pipe came crashing down on his head.

Sam woke up with a splitting pain in his head. He looked down. His hands and feet were tied to the pole behind him. To his left was Ruth, silent tears running down her face. She had bruises and blood everywhere and he hated to see his sister like this. She didn't look as tough as usual, she looked, well, her age.

For the first time, Sam got to see the demon that had hurt his sister. He came out of the shadows with a grin on his face. He was balding, hardly any grey hair left on his shiny head. "Hello, Sammy! How nice of you to drop by!" He said, taking Sam and Ruth's gags off. "It Sam." He growled.

"Maybe you can give us some information that your sis couldn't."

"You let my sister go. She has nothing to do with this! You can keep me, just let her go." Sam said desperately.

"Awww, how heroic." The demon said with mock admiration. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go."

At this moment, Ruth mustered up everything she had left in her and helplessly screamed out one desperate syllable.

"DEAN!"

The demon whipped his head around, glaring at Ruth. "How dare you…." He snarled, slapping Ruth across the face. "Be quiet!"

…..

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked Bobby as they regrouped in the main hallway. "I told him to meet us back here!" Dean's face transformed from slightly irritated to worried older brother.

"SAM! RUTH!" he began screaming. "SAM! RU-"

"Stop screamin', ya idgit!" Bobby admonished. "If the demons did take them, do you want them to know that you've noticed?"

Dean sighed, beaten. "Yeah, I guess not." He tried to control his brotherly instincts and assess the situation. "Sam went to the backyard, right?"

He headed to the back of the house. He felt his heart beat faster as he saw the open door that apparently led downstairs. Then he heard the screams.

**TBC! Did you like it? Please review. I'd like to know why or why not. :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Screams

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! In case you haven't notice, the title and chapter titles are songs from Dean's favorite bands. )**

**Last Chapter: **_He felt his heart beat faster as he saw the open door that apparently led downstairs. Then he heard the screams._

Ruth tried desperately to grab the knife still hidden in her jacket but try as she might she couldn't reach it, especially not with some demon throwing punches left and right. She grunted as she attempted to twist her hands in the ropes to make their way into her jacket. It was hopeless.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed in the stairwell leading upstairs. Sam's eyes lit up in hope of seeing his brother coming to the rescue, but the demon had seen Sam's excitement and threw one last punch, knocking him out.

Dean stepped down the stairs, gun in hand, eyes darting from the demon to Sam and Ruth tied up to the poles. His usually tough hunter heart melted at the site of his little sister hurting like this. "Let. Them. Go." He said, knowing it would have no effect.

"Dean, thanks for showin'. I was beginning to worry you were goin' to leave your sister and brother for dead." The demon grinned. "You wouldn't mind if I hurt these pretty faces, would you?" He gestured towards Sam and Ruth, now unconscious, twirling a knife an inch away from Ruth's eyes. "Don't-don't touch them." Dean stuttered.

The demon walked towards Dean, seeing him begin to raise his gun. What the demon didn't see was Bobby, who had come through a door leading outside.

"DEAN! DOWN, NOW!" Bobby warned, the colt aimed at the demon's head. The shot rang out throughout the house as the demon fell at Dean's feet. Dean ran towards Ruth first, untying her as Bobby helped Sam. They all crowded around Ruth as Dean helped her to her feet.

Ruth was in bad shape. She had a broken rib, most likely a sprained wrist, and some very deep cuts, not to mention the bruises all over her body.

Dean groaned. "Ruth, I'm so sorry we didn't get here sooner." Ruth was able to walk, but she was obviously in a lot of pain.

"Uh, Dean." Sam sounded nervous. "We need to get going. Demons are going to start swarming any minute now."

Sam was right. By the time they got outside demons began to congregate in the yard. There were probably fifteen demons, which all started charging towards them. Dean momentarily let go of Ruth to attack a group of demons heading in Ruth's direction.

Sam, Dean, and Bobby were all up to their necks with demons when they heard a scream.

Ruth was on the ground, a demon taunting her with a knife. Grunting in pain, she managed to grab Ruby's knife, which had been given to her from Sam, from her boot, plunging it deep into the demon's chest.

The demon seemed to glow a fiery orange for a moment before falling on top of Ruth, causing her to cry out in pain as it landed on her broken rib.

With about a gallon of holy water, a few quick exorcisms, and ten demon traps in which the threesome dragged unconscious demons into, they were finally ready to go. Seeing how desperate Ruth needed the hospital made Sam feel even worse about how long it took to find her. The pain that demon must have put her through… Sam made her as comfortable as possible in the backseat before hopping in himself, barely closing the door before they were speeding towards the nearest hospital.

…

Sam and Dean had been in the ER waiting room for four hours after finally convincing Bobby to go home.

"That's a tough girl you got there," he said before leaving. "She'll be fine, you'll see."

Dean straightened in his seat, hopeful that the doctor coming into the room with a clipboard was here for them. Sam was not as hopeful, having been let down the first dozen times a doctor had come to call a family away.

"Family of Ruth Turner?'

Dean and Sam jumped out of their seats, hoping the doctor had good news.

The doctor seemed to look the two over, judging them. "I'm Dr. Noland. And you are Ruth's…." "Brothers," Sam filled in. "Ahhhh," The doctor nodded, looking down at his notes. "Your, uh, _sister_, has two broken ribs, a fractured wrist, a couple serious cuts on her face, and multiple bruises along her ribs and face. How did you say she was injured?"

"Car crash. Can we see her?" Dean asked eagerly.

The doctor nodded leading them to the children's unit, all the way to door 297. "She is in there." He motioned them in. "But I'll be back in a couple minutes. We need to talk." He said sternly.

The brothers seemed lucky to see Ruth awake. The nurse said she had been sleeping since they had arrived.

Ruth was lying in bed, watching some show on the cooking channel, obviously bored. "Are you guys coming to take me home?" She asked in a hopeful but scratchy voice. She already looked much better than when they had brought her here four hours ago.

"Sorry, kiddo, but you are in no condition to be leaving yet." Dean told her regretfully. "Ugh," she groaned, disappointed. "I'm itching to get out of this death trap."

Sam laughed. "You've only been here four hours! You obviously have the Winchester hatred for hospitals." He was glad they had been able to save her, but she was too young to being going through such a serious encounter with demons. He didn't blame her if she never wanted to hunt again. Part of him hoped that was exactly what would happen, but she had Dean's eagerness to hunt, a piece of her that would never be satisfied.

They heard a rapping on the closed hospital door. Dr. Noland entered the room, a grim look on his face. Dean stood up nervously, anticipating some bad news. "We need to talk privately, boys." The doctor ordered. They followed him to his office down the hall, where he motioned them to sit down. He had a disapproving look on his face.

"Is this about Ruth?" Sam blurted through the tense silence that filled the room. "Yes and no." The doctor replied. "Ruth is fine, if that's what you mean."

"And?" Dean said impatiently.

"And some controversy has come up about "Ruth" and her family."

"What exactly does that mean? Spit it out Doc!"

Dr. Noland sighed. "It means we're not sure that you two are her family… We took some blood samples when you first brought her in. And, uh, well, they matched with that of an allegedly kidnapped girl thirteen years ago."

"What?" Sam was shocked. "We didn't kidnap her! She's our sister!"

Dr. Noland continued. "Have you ever heard of Mercy Tanner? She was killed thirteen years ago and her baby was kidnapped, never heard of since. Well, not until now. So I did what was necessary. I called the police."

"You did _what?_" Dean stood up, almost knocking his chair over.

Before he could say anything else, two police officers barged into the office. "You can't do this." Sam pleaded. "She _is _our sister. She is!"

"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "But, all the facts are pointing against you."

The police officers forced the two to their knees, pulling out handcuffs. "You are wanted for the murder of Mercy Tanner, and the kidnapping and assault of Taylor Tanner. You have the right to remain silent…"

**TBC! The poor Winchesters can't catch a break! Please rate and review.**


	4. Chapter 4: And Justice For All

**Thank you for all of the reviews! Bit of a lack of action this chapter, but I promise there will be some more next chapter. **

**Last chapter: **_"You are wanted for the murder of Mercy Tanner, and the kidnapping and assault of Taylor Tanner. You have the right to remain silent…"_

The police officers guided Sam and Dean roughly through the hospital, the group gathering dirty looks the entire way to the police car. The two were shoved into the back of the vehicle as the officers shut the door.

They sat silently in the back of the car as they made their way to the prison, both speechless in shock of what just happened. Still dazed, Dean and Sam cooperated as they were led out of the car and into the grim prison ahead of them.

"I hope you guys like this place, you might be here a while." One of the officers teased. "Honestly," Dean answered, glancing at the giant, sullen men and the gloomy brick topped off with barbed wire. "I was expecting more ominous thunder and lightning." This earned him an extra hard shove as they made their way inside.

**ONE DAY LATER**

_Finally! _Sam thought, walking quickly across the courtyard towards Dean. He had been waiting all day to see Dean again. They hadn't talked to each other since they had arrived.

Dean looked up as Sam joined him on the bench. "Dude, how did you get to keep that?" Sam asked, noticing Dean's amulet, twice as noticeable against their matching orange jumpsuits. "When they took our items I put it in my mouth!" Dean said proudly. "That's just gross." Sam replied, disgusted.

"Have you made your one call yet?" Dean asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"I hope you didn't call Bobby, 'cause it wouldn't do us any good if we both called the same person."

"I didn't."

"Well, stop beating around the bush, who'd you call?"

"I called Christian."

"What? Who's Christian?"

"I went to law school with him."

"Come on, I'm trying to get us out of this mess and you decide it's time to get chatty with your college buddies?"  
>Sam shrugged. "He's a lawyer now."<p>

Dean realized where he was going with this. "Oh, come on Sammy, don't act like that! We don't need lawyers, we're innocent."

"It's Sam, and no, Dean, we aren't innocent." Seeing Dean's confused face he continued. "To everyone else's eyes we didn't save a baby girl who happened to be Dad's daughter from a Lamia after her mother was killed by it. To everyone else it was us that murdered that poor women, us that _stole_ her child, and us that beat her in that basement in California. Face the facts Dean. Unless you want to tell the judge that she was beat up by demons who wanted to use her to get to us because you are an angel's meatsuit you're gonna have to keep your mouth shut about what really happened!"

"Okay, Crankypants…" Dean muttered.

The whistle sounded for everyone to leave the courtyard and go back to their cells. "We still need a plan though," Sam said before they headed in different directions back to their cells.

….

It was 10:55 at night when Dean finally had an idea. It came to him, sadly, when his cellmate began crying and begging for the "wonderful, peaceful angels to keep me safe from the sick creatures locked up in this craphole."

"Cas!" he said out loud, causing the bawling man to look up. "It's Jerry," he replied, before continuing to sob into the dark corner of the cell.

…

As they were excused to the courtyard the next day, Dean asked to use the bathroom. The guard stood outside the door as Dean went in. He immediately checked under all of the doors to see if anyone else was there. It was empty.

"Cas, should you have your angelic mojo up and running, come down here and, uh, help us. So, yeah." The flutter of wings announced the angel's arrival. "This is the worst motel you've ever stayed in." he announced, looking around. "No, no, Cas. We're in a prison bathroom." Dean corrected. "Most people prefer to pray for angels in churches." Castiel replied.

Dean ignored the angel's last remark. "You see, Sammy and I got ourselves in a slight situation."

"What happened?" Cas asked.

"We, uh, we were arrested for assault, kidnapping, and murder." Dean winced, it sounded worse when he said it like that.

"Hmmm," Castiel thought. "Okay, I'll take you back." He reached out a hand to Dean's forehead. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean stopped him. "Sam's comin' too."

Castiel seemed deep in thought. "Fine, if that's the only way you'll leave then you better find a way to get together without anyone seeing you."

With another flap of wings, the angel was abruptly gone again.

Dean sighed._ Great, something else to take time away from getting back to Ruth._

…..

"So, I'm going to be your lawyer for your multiple accusations. I'm not going to sugar-coat it: the evidence points against you."

"Yeah, no, I understand that." Sam wasn't too worried about his case in court. It was ironic, wasn't it? Usually when he did a case it meant hunting down a murdering creature out for the kill. Now, he was the "murdering creature." Sam really hoped Dean had a way out of this, 'cause he had no good ideas.

"I have a question." Sam stated.

"Yes? Anything." Was the reply.

"What's going to happen to Ruth?" Sam couldn't stop thinking about what must be going through Ruth's mind about this whole situation. He wondered what the doctors had told her.

"You mean Taylor Tanner?" The lawyer asked.

"Yeah, sure, Taylor Tanner."

"Taylor is going to go to the nearest adoption agency. She had no family other than her mother. No one knows who her father is."

Sam sighed. If he explained that Dad was Ruth's father they would want a sample of his dad's DNA to compare to Ruth's. How do you explain that after your father died you burnt him? They needed to get out of here fast.

….

Dean walked up to where Sam was sitting in the courtyard. "Cas is gonna help us." He announced. "Castiel?" Sam didn't know if he'd heard right. "Castiel is going to help me? Even though I'm Lucifer's vessel?"

"Well, I think I made it quite obvious I wasn't going to leave without you." Dean replied. "We just need to find a way to get together without anyone watching."

"The bathroom?" Sam offered.

"No, there's a guard outside and it's one guy at a time."

It looked like the brothers had a lot of thinking to do.

…..

The next day Dean was eager to see Sam at the courtyard. He finally had an idea and it was the only time they got to talk. They didn't even get to eat meals together. Sam wasn't at the bench where they had agreed to meet by the time Dean showed up.

Five minutes later and Sam still hadn't shown.

Twenty minutes later Dean was getting worried.

When the whistle was blown to go back to the cells Dean finally realized a very frightening prospect: Someone else was missing, and his name was Killer Keith, a man known for his size and extremely short temper.

Now Dean was really worried.

**To be continued? **


	5. Chapter 5: Jailbreak

**New chapter! I'm thinking maybe only one or two more.**

**Last chapter: **_Someone else was missing, and his name was Killer Keith, a man known for his size and extremely short temper._

_Now Dean was really worried._

Instead of sitting at his usual table for dinner that night, Dean sat next to a group of large, bald men with an excessive number of tattoos who had been here long enough to know the ins and outs of the place.

"Hey, fellas." Dean announced his presence. "Come here often?" He was met with glares from everyone at the table. "Look, I'll get out of your hair, or lack of, as soon as you tell me where Killer Keith is."

One of the men cleared his throat. "Yeah, he's in the infirmary. Got in a fight with some dude."

"What did the other guy look like?" Dean asked worriedly.

"He, uh, was tall. Kinda girly hair, too long if you ask me. Kid was just getting' wailed on by Killer. His fault, though."

"What did he do?"

"Got in line for breakfast before Killer. No one gets in line before Killer."

_Okay,_ he thought. _So much for my plan. Now _I _need to get to the infirmary some how. _

Dean cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he tapped the nearest tough guy. "I was wondering when you were going to get that fixed." He said in all seriousness, pointing at the guy's face.

The guy stood up, making deep growling noises. "Down, boy." Dean said, pointing a finger at the ground. The man raised his fist but Dean was faster, punching the guy in the gut. He gave the man just enough time to attack him with a fork. To Dean it was nothing, due to years of experience, but to the guards it was enough to send him to the infirmary.

_I'm coming, Sammy, _he thought.

….

Dean's jaw dropped at the sight of how sad and beat up Sam looked sitting in the infirmary cell all alone. The nurse (Who wasn't even cute, Dean thought.) came to wrap up Dean's arm. Then the guard shoved Dean into the cell with Sam.

"Dude, are you okay?" Dean asked, seeing Sam's multiple injuries. He had two black eyes, a cast on his arm, and scratches all over his face and neck. Deep scratches.

"No." Was Sam's short answer. "Why are you here?" Dean told him about his fight during dinner.

The brothers waited until that night when everyone was asleep. They were lucky that the nurse had decided Dean's arm was bad enough to keep him overnight.

Dean stood up, cleared his throat, and said, "Castiel, we pray that you get your feathery self down here. Now."

Sam stared at him. "I've never seen you call Castiel down before."

"And?"

"And…" Sam shrugged. "I kind of expected it to be, I don't know, a little more like praying and a little less like an order."

"You're just jealous you don't have the kind of relationship that Cas and I have. He doesn't mind when I "pray" for him."

"I don't?" came the confused voice of the angel from behind Dean, causing him to jump slightly at the sudden presence.

"No, you don't." Dean answered, turning to face him. Castiel ignored the comment. "Okay, let's go." He reached his hands up to the two.

With a flash and a slight feeling of breathlessness, Castiel, Dean, and Sam were suddenly outside of Bobby's.

Dean turned to thank Cas, but he was already gone.

Sam and Dean walked in to find Bobby still awake. At the sound of footsteps, he was up and pointing a shotgun at them within seconds.

"Woah, easy tiger." Dean said. Bobby put the gun down and walked forward to give them a hug.

"It's good to see you boys." He said pulling back. "Nice clothes." Dean realized they were still wearing the orange jumpsuits. "Thanks." He replied sarcastically.

"You didn't happen to grab the Impala, did you?" Sam asked.

"I did." Bobby answered. "It's outside."

"I missed you so much, it just wasn't the same without you!" Dean exclaimed.

Bobby was about to thank Dean for finally having all of his hard work acknowledged when he realized Dean was talking to the Impala as he walked quickly outside towards it. "Idgit." He mumbled making his way upstairs to his bedroom. "Make yourselves at home!" He called after them.

Sam followed Dean out to the car. "You know we can't just pop into that adoption agency and adopt her, right?" Sam asked Dean. "By tomorrow morning we'll be wanted by the police. It won't be that easy."

Dean sighed. "I realize that, Sammy. But we have to get her back. We just have to. I mean, we fight demons and werewolves and vampires on a regular basis but we can't even save our own sister from a freakin' adoption center?"

Sam could here the desperation in his brother's voice. They had to get Ruth back soon, before his brother cracked under the stress.

…..

The next morning, Dean came downstairs to find Sam had already eaten and was making phone calls.

"Hi, I'm a friend of Taylor Tanner's mother, I was just wondering if Taylor is currently at your adoption center so I could visit her."

A pause as Sam listened to the receptionist on the other end.

"That's okay, do you know what adoption center she was taken to last week?"

Another pause.

"Thank you." Sam hung up and immediately began dialing another number. Dean grabbed an old sandwich from Bobby's fridge and sat down next to Sam.

"Yes, I'm an old friend of Mercy Tanner, I was wondering if you could tell me if her daughter, Taylor was at your adoption center."

"She arrived last week? Great. I plan on visiting soon."  
>Silence as Sam listened to the voice on the other end.<p>

"WHAT?" Sam suddenly stood up. "No, no, of course I'm excited. Y-yes, it's great that she found a family so quickly.

Dean dropped his sandwich. A family? Ruth was adopted?

Sam finished the conversation and hung up, sinking to the floor. "It's my fault," Sam mumbled to his knees. "I should have gotten to her in time. You don't get it, Dean. All my life you've been a great big brother. Now it's finally my turn to be an awesome big brother and I fail."

"It's not your fault she was adopted so quickly, Sammy." Dean said, sitting next to his little brother.

"No, Dean. I mean if I had gotten to her before the demons had gone and gotten her _hospitalized_ we would never have been in this situation in the first place."

"No, Sammy, it's not like that. If anyone, blame the demons." Dean said softly.

"Or me." said Bobby, entering the room. "It's not a crime to go to the bathroom, Bobby." Sam muttered.

"Then blame the stupid demons, boy." Bobby said.

"Watch who you call stupid, old man." Came the voice from the front door. A demon was standing in the doorway, a grin on her face.

"Go away unless you want to die." Dean said, standing up and pointing his gun at the demons face.

"Silly rabbit," the demon teased. "You know guns have no effect on me."

"Devil traps do," Bobby smirked. The demon looked up to see a devil's trap on the ceiling, and she was standing right under it.

Dean walked up to her, Ruby's knife in hand. "Now, wanna tell us why you're here?"

"I came for lil' Ruth-y." The demon replied. "But I guess I just missed her. I'll just have to go to her new family, won't I?"

"You're going nowhere." Sam got up and walked over to the demon. "And you're never touching my sister ever again."

"Is that so?" The demon said. "I must be more powerful than you chuckleheads realized." The demon closed her eyes. The entire room was filled with a powerful wind and cracks began running across the ceiling, one going right through the devil's trap. The winds died down and the demon calmly stepped away from the circle.

She turned towards the door. "Oh, and by the way," She said.

"Race you!"

**To be continued! Please rate and review.**


	6. Chapter 6: Frantic

**Thank you so much for all the reviews. I really appreciate them! This might be the final chapter, but who knows?**

**Last chapter: **"Race you!"

Sam stood up, only acknowledging his injuries when they caused a shooting pain down his side. "Aaaah!" he yelped. "Take it easy, Sam!" Dean said, at his side instantly.

He helped his brother into a chair before going over to where Bobby was still standing, frozen.

"Bobby, what are we going to do?" Dean whispered so Sam wouldn't here. Bobby sighed. "I don't know, kid. I guess we go find her new family. But you know we can't take your brother with us. He's not fit to do anything, not to mention hunting demons!" Dean nodded. He walked over to where Sam was sitting, staring at the wall with a vacant stare.

"Sam?" Sam looked up when he heard his name, and Dean's heart melted at the sight of the tears forming in his brother's eyes. He had always known that Sam had a special bond with Ruth. Despite what Sam thought of himself, Dean knew that he was being a better big brother than he thought. Dean had watched as Sam had cleaned her first scraped knee, taught her all the Latin she ever needed to know, and steadied her when she was first learning to shoot.

"Sam?" he repeated. "We're gonna head out. But, uh, Bobby and I think that maybe you should stay here. You were beat up pretty bad back at the prison and I don't want to worry about both of my little siblings." He tried to lighten the mood, but Sam had continued his vacant stare at the suddenly interesting cracking wallpaper.

"I'm going to bed." He whispered, limping up the stairs to the guest bedroom.

Dean began to help Bobby pack up all of the necessary weapons in their fight for Ruth. 10 minutes later and Dean was zipping up a duffel bag and following Bobby out to the Impala. One problem: the Impala was gone.

...

Sam winced at the splitting headache that had begun about an hour ago. He was driving one handed- his right arm in a cast and too painful to move.

He knew that his idea to go save Ruth himself was stupid; he knew Dean might never forgive him if he got hurt, or worse, if Ruth got hurt. But Sam was way past caring about that. The demons might be there by now. Ruth might be dead. Sam was going crazy with worry.

...

"SAAAAAMMM! GET BACK HERE! THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO THIS! I CAN'T LOSE BOTH OF YOU! YOU SON OF A-" "Dean!" Bobby grabbed Dean by his shoulder. "Stop! You IDGIT!" The two were both breathing heavily, from worry or adrenaline, neither knew. "We'll take my truck." He said calmly.

Dean nodded, staring at his shoes.

...

Sam cursed Dean for forcing him to take that Advil earlier. He was getting tired, but he couldn't stop. Not now. He was almost there.

...

"We'll catch up with your brother, you'll see." Bobby reassured Dean. They were almost to the address Bobby had looked up. Ruth was living with the Collins' family. Bobby figured Sam had called for the same information and was heading there himself.

...

Sam pulled into the driveway and went through the little gate leading through the freshly painted white picket fence. It didn't look like the demons had been here. All the lights were on.

The pain in Sam's side was growing and his headache had escalated to a full out migraine. He felt slightly dizzy, but it was probably nothing. He stumbled up the front steps, surprised to find the door unlocked.

He smelled it before he saw it.

...

"Faster!" Dean was running out of patience. "It'll take longer to get to Ruth if we get pulled over!" Bobby just about yelled. "I'm already going fifteen above speed limit!"

"THERE'S THE NEIGHBORHOOD! BOBBY!" Bobby squealed into the neighborhood full speed, only slowing down slightly at the turns.

...

The poor, poor Collins. They didn't deserve this… _If the Collins' were all dead, does that mean Ruth is, too?_ Sam thought. He held onto the counter in the kitchen, stumbling through the house. The dizziness was overwhelming. His head felt like it was going to explode. He barely saw the figure step in front of him. There was three of everything, his vision swimming on the brink of darkness. He let the darkness take over, he gave in to unconsciousness.

...

Dean just about jumped out of the car when he saw the Impala and the open front door. He grabbed a gun at the last minute, realizing how suicidal it would be to run in without one. Bobby was right behind him.

Dean came to a halt when he saw the Collins' in the middle of the kitchen. He cursed and was about to continue when he saw the blood. Lighter, paler, fresher.

_Sam…_

...

Ruth almost started bawling again when she saw the brunette demon, Alex, dragging a limp Sam up the stairs and into the bedroom. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. She watched painfully as the demon handcuffed each of Sam's arms to a leg of the bed. Ruth tried for what seemed like the millionth time to struggle out of her own handcuffs.

...

Dean began running through every room. Bobby had told him to be quiet. The element of surprise could be very useful in this situation. Eventually, Dean couldn't help himself any longer.

"RUTH! SAM!"

...

Ruth felt a surge of hope when she heard Dean calling her. She figured Bobby was with him, too. She made a split second decision.

...

"DEEEAAAANN!" The shriek burst through the silence. Dean froze. He stopped checking the bottom floor and flew upstairs. He saw Bobby emerge from the basement and come running after him.

...

Alex slapped Ruth. When that didn't feel like enough she slapped her again and then punched her. Satisfied, she turned back to the job at hand. She was almost finished with the altar when Dean kicked open the locked bedroom door. "You!" Alex growled.

Dean aimed the shotgun at the demon and pulled the trigger, watching the rock salt slam into her chest, propelling her backwards. The demon groaned from her position in the corner of the room.

Bobby ran in, taking in the sight in front of him. He rushed over to where Dean was in front of his brother and sister. "They're handcuffed, Bobby." Dean quickly pulled out a paperclip, only to watch it fall out of his hand as the two were suddenly slammed against the wall. The demon was standing again, her hand casually up, pinning them down.

"Hello, Dean. Bobby." The demon walked up to the two. "You're late."

"Bite me." Dean said through gritted teeth.

"Be nice, now." The demon replied. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to anyone would we?" She glanced at Sam, out cold.

"You touch him and I swear…" Dean threatened.

"_You_ be quiet!" She shouted.

"_You_ let Sam and Ruth go!" Dean spat.

With a snap of her fingers and a wave of her hand, Dean watched Sam's handcuffs click open and his body go slamming against the doorframe before falling to the ground.

"I told you to be quiet." The demon shrugged.

"Okay, okay!" Dean agreed. "Just, take me instead."

...

Ruth noticed the paperclip as the demon was talking to Dean. She knew if she could reach it she could get herself free, picking locks was one of the first things Sam had taught her. She began to inch forward, dragging the desk she was handcuffed to with her silently, thankful for the carpet beneath her.

Eventually, she was able to reach the paperclip, her arm outstretched as far as possible. Her fingertips pulled it closer until she could grab it with her hand. She shakily began to unlock her handcuffs.

...

Alex the demon was still talking to Dean. "This altar is going to summon a much more powerful demon, and all I still need is some-" _Click. _

...

Ruth cringed at the sound of the handcuffs unlocking. She turned to see Alex glaring at her with hatred in her round, black eyes. Ruth nervously pulled Ruby's knife out of her boot and held it up in defense. "D-don't try to come close." She tried not to sound scared, but her voice sounded shaky. "I have a knife."

The demon took a step forward, but Ruth didn't waste another second. She threw the knife at the demon with all her force, watching its path from her hand and firmly into the demon's heart. She watched as the demon's fiery life force flickered and died, releasing the hold on Dean and Bobby.

She watched as Dean made a mad rush to his brother and as Bobby walked over to her, checking her for any serious injury. "That was a good throw." He said happily. "I think you made your brother very proud."

...

Sam was asleep in the backseat of the Impala, having woken up only long enough to ask if Ruth was okay. He seemed to settle much more peacefully when he saw the girl sitting in the front next to Dean with an ice pack in one hand and Ruby's knife in the other.

Dean was happier than he had been in a while. He had Ruth next to him and a slowly improving Sam in the backseat. They would be out of the state by the time the police found the bodies in Ruth's temporary home.

Ruth had amazed him back in the bedroom. He realized how much he had underestimated her. He had already guaranteed her a new phone, new clothes, her own gun, and the promise to take her on the next hunt. He smiled. Leave it to Ruth to be the only 13 year old girl to be more excited about getting a gun than a phone.

...

Sam woke up again when they reached Bobby's. The old hunter was more than happy to have the three staying there for another week, understanding how motel beds and diner food wasn't going to help Sam gain his health back quickly.

Ruth helped Sam upstairs to the guest room and sat down on the bed next to him. "Can I ask you something?" she asked timidly. "Sure." Sam answered quietly, the headache not completely gone. "Why did you come after me when Dean and Bobby told you not to?"

Sam answered honestly. "I couldn't just let them save you without me. I'm your big brother, and I'm supposed to be there for you. I didn't even help, though. I just made matters worse. I failed miserably. At being a great brother. At everything."

Ruth snuggled closer to her brother. "But you didn't fail. Dean said I saved us all, but I didn't. You taught me everything I know. Without you, we would all still be in that bedroom with that horrible demon. It was you, Sam. _You_ saved _me_."

**And scene. Unless…. Epilogue?**


	7. Chapter 7: The Memory Remains

**Thank you for the reviews! They keep me going. Sorry this chapter's short.**

**ONE MONTH LATER**

Dean woke up to Ruth sitting in the lamplight, newspapers spread all over the desk, open to the obituary. "Watcha doin'?" Ruth jumped. She turned and playfully punched Dean. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm finding us a job."

Dean sat next to her. "Anything good?" "Yeah, three "accidental" deaths in this one neighborhood south of here." Dean decided to test her. "What do you think?"

Dean watched Ruth's concentrated expression. "Changeling maybe? All the deaths are happening in the same neighborhood and all of the victims have kids."

Dean nodded and stood. "You know," Dean remarked. "Seeing as you figured out what we're dealing with, I think it would be only fit to have you help us hunt it." He watched as Ruth's face lit up and she began to jump up and down. "Just when I thought you were actually slightly mature…" He looked at Sam, still sleeping. "Why don't we wake sleeping beauty over here and get on the road?"

….

Ruth smoothed her skirt and adjusted the sash hanging across her shoulders. She pulled the red wagon full of cookies behind her as she approached the front steps. Smiling cheerfully, she knocked on the glass door.

A small child answered the door and stared at her with a serious face too sullen for a boy of that age. "Hi, want some Girl Scout cookies?" Ruth put on her most innocent looking face as the child turned back inside.

"Mommy! I want cookies, now." Ruth watched as a woman in her mid-thirties came to the door. "Jimmy, we already have ten boxes inside from the last Girl Scout."  
>"I want <em>more <em>cookies, Momma." The boy hugged onto his mother's leg, an act that seemed to surprise her in its abnormality. "Uh," she stuttered. "Uh, yeah, uh, we'll take two boxes."

"Five, Mommy!" Came the boy's muffled cry from his mother's leg. "Okay, five then." The boy got off his mother's leg and stood in the doorway, hand out for cookies as his mother gave Ruth money.

She handed the boy the boxes of cookies and watched closely as he closed the door. "Thank you!" She shouted through the door before turning back to the car behind her.

Dean got out and walked towards the trunk, opening it to make room for the wagon and cookies. "I never thought I would ever agree to put Girl Scout cookies in the back of my baby." He muttered.

Ruth got in the back seat while Dean started up the Impala. "Well?" Sam asked, turning to face his little sister from the passenger seat.

"Definitely a changeling." Ruth replied. "Couldn't have been easier, they had a glass door! The kid's reflection was right there."

The tires squealed as Dean speeded towards the abandoned house Dean had seen on the way to check the little boy's house.

Dean pulled into the driveway of the deteriorating building as Ruth jumped out of the car to help a still weak Sam out of the front seat. He had refused to stay home from yet another hunt and "let you and Dean have all the fun."

Ruth handed out flamethrowers and the three headed towards the ramshackle house. Sam quietly opened the front door and motioned for the other two to enter. They split up and Ruth tiptoed towards the back. She heard Dean whisper for Sam. They must have found the real kids, but Ruth decided to continue, knowing they could handle that by themselves. The mother changeling had to be around here somewhere…

Suddenly, Ruth heard a shriek and ducked as a knife whistled past her head. She turned to see the mother changeling right in front of her, legs wide, obviously ready to pounce. She turned on the flamethrower, determined to show Sam and Dean she could kill, too.

She remembered the research she had done earlier.

_Changelings are killed with fire, but the easiest way to injure one is to slice it's throat or other major organs._

Ruth pulled out her prized possession- Ruby's knife. Quickly, she slid between the mother's legs and turned, stabbing the monster through the throat. Sam came skidding around the corner, fear in his eyes as he looked for his sister.

His mouth opened slightly at the sight before him. Ruth was standing with one hand holding the knife, still in the changeling's neck. Using the knife to hold up the mother changeling, Ruth held the flamethrower up to its neck before setting the creature on fire.

She watched it burn and turn into ash, screaming, before facing her brother. She grinned and walked up to him. "Thanks for the help." She joked, hooking her hand around his back as the two headed out towards the Impala.

The scared children were all heading back towards their houses as Dean put the flamethrowers back in the trunk.

"I hate to admit it," Dean said as they drove back to the motel. "But you did really god back there, kiddo."

"Always the tone of surprise." Ruth complained, beaming.

Sam smiled. Dean would rather face thirty demons alone than admit it, but the brothers both knew how useful of an addition Ruth was. Whenever a witness wasn't telling them the truth, they pulled Ruth in. When a child wouldn't talk to adults, they brought Ruth to play and talk with the kid. She had inherited Sam's puppy dog eyes, and Dean thought that no one would ever do it just as well as his brother, but if it was that convincing on a 24 year old, it looked even cuter on a thirteen year old girl.

Ruth got out of the car when they pulled into the parking lot and practically ran into the motel room. "Where's the fire?" Dean called after her as she sat down to finish the weekend's homework.

The girl was still going to school and seemed to like it almost as much as Sam had, but when they had agreed to let her go to college she had just laughed and squealed something about vampires and wraiths and the "greater good" before collapsing on the bed in fits of laughter.

Ruth was like a perfect mix of her older brothers. She was loving, kind, and smart like Sam, but had the eagerness to hunt and the love of food like Dean.

Other than a couple scars and some disappearing cuts, nothing remained of the scared girl that had taken Ruth's place a month ago. She was a kid- energetic and playful and eager to learn. But most importantly, she was aWinchester, and she would never give up on her brothers.

**Thank you so much for all the feedback. I'm thinking this is the last chapter, unless anyone has any objections or suggestions. Check out the new story I'm writing- a sequel to Nothing Else Matters. Reviews are always welcome!**


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